The Science of Video Game Boobs Jiggle Physics
Imagine how much easier high school physics would have been if your teacher had used the example of a giant pair of breasts swinging back and forth to explain Newton’s first law of inertia. Well here at Booby Pillow we feel like it’s our duty not only to entertain you with bountiful boobies but also to educate you. So let's have a serious discussion about the science behind ‘jiggle physics’.
Jiggle physics (English)
Noun
jiggle physics (uncountable)
(video games) The art of portraying the bouncing or swaying of breasts on a 3D model.
You may remember Mai Shiranui, who came in at number two on our list of the Ten Sexiest Video Game Vixens, as being the very first female character to feature bouncing boobies. Back in 1992 when video games were still 2D, the developers of King of Fighters were the first to realize they could devote extra memory to Mai’s mesmerizing mammary glands because there were less characters on the screen at one time. As technology and games progressed into 3D the science of jiggle physics was born.
How They Get Those Boobies Wobbling
During the development stages of a video game each character is built from a model. The model is made up of a skeleton of ‘bones’ that exist underneath the skin and clothing. Each bone is connected with a joint that gives it its range of motion. Even clothing and hair are rigged with the same spring loaded joints. Games with fewer characters or larger graphic engines can afford to devote more memory to their female character’s undulating lady bits.
Some games may only have enough space for one joint to be programmed into the chest area. Resulting in two breasts that move in a uniform manner. But in games that have fewer characters or better engines the bosoms can have up to four joints in them allowing for individual movement and a far greater range of motion.
Multiple joints doesn’t necessarily equal more realistic movements as many animators still struggle to depict the natural wobble and shake of a woman’s breast. But really jiggle physics is more about fueling the fantasy than being natural. What’s reality got to do with a video game that features a character who battles demons from hell wearing nothing but a strapless bra?
When an animator is working on the motion of a character’s breasts they have to consider:
Jiggle range- the maximum range of motion the joint is allowed to pivot
Duration of the Jiggle- the time is takes for the movement to be absorbed after the initial motion
Speed of the Jiggle- how fast and frequently each wave of force travels through each ta ta
The video game series Dead or Alive was the first to really capitalize on its bouncing beauties. Back in 2004 the game’s creator Tomonobu Itagaki caught a lot of slack for the amount of jiggle his female fighters had but he was unashamed of the fact.
The DOA developers also coined the expression ‘Breast Physics’ and were the first to give players the ability to customize the amount of jiggle their characters had which was a huge selling point for the series. They eventually went on to release a game that is now infamous for having the most blatant use of jiggle physics ever made, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. Which features only female characters on a tropical Island playing beach volleyball and wearing tiny bikinis that often experience wardrobe malfunctions. It was never released in the US but there are plenty of hilarious clips of it on YouTube.
Sure the game features gratuitous use of jiggle physics as the girls jump up and down in their barely there bikinis but is that really any worse than the amount of gratuitous violence most video games have?
After DOA popularized the ‘breast slider’ many games started allowing their players to choose the size and amount of bounce for their female characters. Even games that choose to tone down their jiggle physics often have mods that the players can add to alter the wobble themselves. A lot of people complain that the constant bouncing distracts from playing the game. To which we say, if you can’t focus on the ax wielding murderer in front of you because her gargantuan boobs are bursting out of her armoured corset, then that’s survival of the fittest. A true warrior uses every weapon they have to defeat their opponent, including their fun bags.
Some developers are even turning their attention towards male jiggle physics or shall we say ‘dangle’ physics. Conan Exiles is a step towards equality in that yes you can manipulate the size of your female character’s breast but you can also endow your male character with a dong the size of an elephant trunk. Then marvel as he runs around the desert naked squatting and jumping with a perfect range of dangle motion. Makes one wonder how many gym locker rooms the animators had to frequent to get that tea bag effect just right?
As booby aficionados we appreciate any science that brings us more tantalizing bounces and titillating wobbles. If you feel like you need to do some more research on this fascinating subject, here's a video of Xtreme Beach Volleyball’s wardrobe malfunctions. Happy bouncing!